The present invention is in the field of packaging and is more specifically directed to the field of candy packaging of stick candy of the type normally provided in transparent wrap. Even more specifically, the present invention is directed to a candy package comprising a candy body provided in a variety of shapes such as cylindrical rods, canes and wreath shapes all of well-known type.
Additionally, the present invention is directed to unique attachment means for permitting the attachment of a bow and/or a tag or card to stick candy in any of the aforementioned shapes for enhancing the ornamental appearance of same and for providing a candy package which can easily be used as a small gift and personalized by the application of a message, the name of a recipient and the name of the person making the gift.
It has been well known practice in the candy industry to provide stick candy packages in various forms such as wreaths, canes and linear rod shapes with bows and a card attached thereto. The practice in the past has been to attach the bow and the card by the use of a twist-tie of the type comprising a paper or plastic coated wire of the well-known construction which is used for a multitude of purposes. Unfortunately, the use of twist-tie devices for attaching bows and cards and similar items directly to stick candy is a relatively complicated time-consuming procedure requiring expensive manual labor which increases the cost of the finished product. Moreover, the resultant product is not totally satisfactory in that the bow and the card frequently become disassociated from the stick candy either due to the unwinding of the twist-tie or slippage from over the end of the candy.
A large number of clip-type attachment devices have been previously proposed in unrelated arts to the candy industry such as evidenced by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,292,749; 4,268,986; 3,977,104; 3,905,570; 2,861,318; 1,540,320 and 973,731. For example, the Thomas U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,749 discloses a clip for attaching a coupon to a grocery cart; the Piana U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,986 discloses an identification device in which information is provided with the device being capable of being clipped to a variety of objects none of which is in the candy field; the Stupar U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,104 discloses an identification device including a clip attachable to ignition wires of an automobile engine; the Nleuwveld U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,570 discloses a fastening device formed of a plastic having an end mountable in a hole of appropriate size for retention; the Fernberg U.S. Pat. No. 2,861,318 discloses a variety of cylindrical fasteners usable for connection to automobile seat components for securing flexible materials thereto; the Everett, et al U.S. Pat. No. 1,540,320 discloses identification devices clipable to wire conduits and the Watkins U.S. Pat. No. 973,731 discloses a card holding device which is attached to a card clip for mounting same on a bottle or the like.
None of the aforementioned unrelated prior art or other prior art known to applicants presents or suggests a solution to the problems of connecting and maintaining ornamental bows and associated cards on stick candy.